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Recent Russian military gains to trigger new wave of disinformation, TASS chief warns

"As for TASS, we bear a double responsibility," Andrey Kondrashov noted

NOVOSIBIRSK, May 22. /TASS/. Russia will see another wave of fake news and bogus stories after the Russian army’s latest advance in the special military operation, TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov said.

"[Our opponents] have gone silent in the information space because it turned out they didn’t have a Plan B. According to their Plan A, they wanted to destroy Russia's ability to resist the West on the battlefield, but failed. As we advance, the number of bogus stories will grow," Kondrashov said at the MediaSib forum in Novosibirsk.

He emphasized that an information war against Moscow was launched back in 2014, following Crimea’s reunification with Russia. "Soon after the events in Crimea took place, a team of over 700 spin doctors was sent to [the Estonian capital of] Tallinn. That’s just Tallinn alone, but there was also [the Polish capital of] Warsaw, to say nothing of [the Ukrainian capital of] Kiev," the TASS director general explained.

That is why Russian media outlets must check their facts. "As for TASS, we bear a double responsibility. Because, if we tell a lie…" Kondrashov added.

The first MediaSib forum, dedicated to the 120th anniversary of TASS, Russia’s oldest news agency, is taking place in the Siberian city of Novosibisk on May 22. Leading federal and regional experts in the field of media are discussing pressing issues facing the industry. The forum is being held with the support of the office of the plenipotentiary presidential envoy to the Siberian Federal District, the Novosibirsk regional government and the Sber.